Walking in their shoes
by Typewriterman
Summary: No matter what the circumstances, they were always somehow destined to meet each other. Just, in the other person's shoes.
1. Homeward Bound

It was sundown now, and the suburban streets of Karakura town were bathed in a beautiful orange gleam. On one particular street corner, water leaked onto the pavement from a broken vase. A gang of teenaged vagrants have surrounded someone who had just attacked one of their own.

"What the!? You come here, stomp Lil' Yama in the face, and order us out like we was dogs!?"

"You crazy, bitch?"

"Got a deathwish?"

"Speak!" Not being able to restrain himself anymore, the baggy clothed teen charged the aggressor, with a strong fist flying through the air. "Say something you…"

To everyone's surprise, a foot rose up from the ground, crashing the heel right into teen's face. The teen didn't have a chance, and he dropped straight to the ground in an unconscious thump.

"Lord Buddha…" One other gang member gasped out.

"She dropped Lil' Toshi!" Despite having witnessed a crude example of kick-assery, the teens couldn't help but gawk towards the small raven haired girl, who along with the kick provided a great peek.

"What are you punks looking at?" She slowly planted her foot back to the ground, and placed her hands firmly on her hips while continuing her menacing scowl.

"N-nothing…" they began to stutter out, but they were quickly overtaken by the quick and agile schoolgirl.

"Shut up!" She screamed out, after dropping her foot down on one of the gangster's heads. "All of you chumps look at that!" She pointed her feminine digit toward the broken glass vase near the wooden telephone pole. "Question one!!" she suddenly added. "What's that? You, smelly looking guy!! You tell me!!"

"Huh? M-me?" the goateed gang member pointed to himself, confused. "Ummm…An offering for some dead kid?" The girl smirked, and immediately kicked the larger teen as a reward for the answer.

"Check out the brain on smelly!!"

"Lil' Mitch!!" another gang member screamed out in surprise.

"Lil' Mitch?!"

"You okay, Lil' Mitch?!" Two gang members ran over to help their fallen brother, and tried their best to smack him conscious.

"Question two!!!" The gang quivered in fear, as the girl's voice shouted out again. "Why is that vase…lying on its_ side_?"

"That's cause…" A third man started to say, "We knocked it over with our skate…boards?"

"IS THAT SO?" The two teens left standing, nervously watched as the girl approached them, fearing for their lives. "THEN YOU BETTER APOLOGIZE TO **HER, **HADN'T YOU!?" The crazed girl pointed behind her, where no one stood but a short wall. Staring at it in confusion, the two squinted their eyes, when a bloody figure materialized right before him

"**Aagh**! We're sorry!"

"We're sorry!!" Don't hurt us!!"

"We'll never do it again!!" They ran away, leaving the grey clothed school girl and the floating younger—and bloody—little girl.

"Heh…I don't think they'll be back." She scoffed, and the raven haired girl turned to face the other. "Sorry for using you like that." She sighed out.

"That's ok. I asked you to get rid of them." The floating girl admitted with a smile. "I was glad to help." Walking over to pick up her bag, the raven haired girl started down the road, still bathed in yellow and orange by the setting sun.

"I'll bring…fresh flowers soon."

The floating girl smiled again, even though the other's back was turned to her. "Okay. Thank you. Now I can rest peacefully."

Smiling herself, the raven haired girl brushed her bangs to the side of her face, and waved her arm as she continued her way. "No problem. Yeah, You rest in peace."

* * *

**Some words from the Typewriter**

I would like to thank anyone who was curious enough to check this story out. I'm just trying this out, and I know that there have been _so _many AU's that start off at the _begining_-begining. Still, it's fun to start off here, you know?

Seriously though, I have _no_ idea if I can pull this off...

_**...legalities...**_

Everything belongs to Tite Kubo..._everything..._


	2. Dinner Time

_It's true. I can see and talk with ghosts…_

The vast orange glamour of the setting sun was gone now, duly replaced by the violet and blues from the darker spectrum of the ethereal pastel. Walking up to the building, a raven haired girl noted the locked door of the clinic entrance. She pouted for a second and glanced at her watch out of habit, then began to shuffle through her side bag for her keys.

Clinking and clanking went the key chain, sporting a bronze, silver and faux-gold key of each color, and a white plastic bunny rabbit hanging off the ring itself. Opening the door, the girl fastidiously made her way through, making sure not to attract any attention as she lightly stepped through the clinic. Heading towards a door at the opposite of the entrance, she turned the knob and sighed as her digital watched beeped on the hour.

"I'm home." She declared, opening the door with her eyes closed.

"**You're late!!**" A gruff voice responded, and thunderous footsteps ran towards her. The girl stepped to the side, and raised her hand palm forward. With ridiculous timing, someone large charged into her hand, and grunted and whined.

Her violet eyes scowled towards the man, of whom his arms flailed about in surprise. Finally realizing that he was stopped, the white coated man stood up and leaned two fists on his hips. "Why have you grown so cold my daughter? Not allowing your old man to hug you?" He vainly tried a second time, making smooching sounds in the process. The girl scoffed, and kicked him across the kitchen.

"Do you know what time it is?" the man screamed after getting back to his feet. ""Dinner in this house is at seven o'clock sharp, every night!!"

The large man and smaller girl were now forehead to forehead, fighting both with words and scowls. "Geez…" She scoffed again, "Is that how you greet your daughter who just helped a ghost find peace!?"

"No excuses! The rules of my house are iron! No daughter of mine is going to wander around at night without a strong male escort!!"

"What are you-"

"-Or maybe you want to rub it in my face that _you_ can see ghosts and I _can't_!? Why can't _I_ have the gift!? _Why_!?"

"Shut up! I didn't ask for it!" The girl argued back.

Watching the fight unfold, sat two other girls. One wore a look of disdain while watching the two. Her own raven hair caused her misery from the sheer fact that she really was related to them. The other, a blonde, Worried over her father and older sister "Please stop fighting! Dinner's getting cold…" Just not necessarily _over _them.

"Let the fight Yuzu…" The other girl mumbled with her chopsticks in her mouth, "Leaves more for us…"

"Your rules are_ way_ too strict!! Just because I'm a girl shouldn't make a difference!! You wouldn't make your teenage _son_ be home by seven, would you!!?"

"Rukia, I think you have a new 'friend' haunting you." The blonde girl pointed out. Turning around, the teenager saw the floating mass of a spirit staring down at her. With remnants of a tie and buttoned collar visible on his ghostly form, his glasses nearly fogged up at the sight of her, and his cheeks reddened slightly.

"Hi…" The spirit gasped nervously.

"Geez! When did you…?" She exclaimed. "I exorcise one, and _another_ latches onto me!! Crap!!"

"She seees them, talks to them, touches them, and channels them—" The other raven haired girl casually observed. "A quadruple threat…Must be a pain, sis, to be in such high demand."

"But you know…" The blonde added, "We're bound to be a little envious of you, Rukia. They're just blurry shapes to me." Yuzu sighed and looked down to the table. "I'd love to see one clearly."

"Not me. I'm in permanent denial. If I refuse to believe in them, it's like they don't exist." The stoic raven haired girl said. "Of course, that doesn't mean I can't make a few bucks here and there…" She took out a small brochure from her jean pants for all to see.

"Damn it Karin, You're not making money off my grief!! I'm not some-" Jumping from behind, the white coated father grabbed onto Rukia and attempted to tickle her.

"Dropped your guard!!" There was no effect from his assault, until the man was tossed aside by a now fuming teenaged girl.

"That's it! I'm going to bed!!" She angrily yelled as she thumped up the stairs and slammed the door behind her. Plopping onto her bed, the teen sighed and stared at the ceiling. A poster of a bunny stared back down, soothing her rage with its fluffiness and cute 'widdle' eyes…if just a bit. "Why is my family so weird?" She sighed.

Soft fluttering caught her attention and upon looking around the room, a butterfly floated about. "That's weird." She thought out loud. Sitting up, her large eyes were piqued in interest, and followed where the bug flew about. "A black swallowtail butterfly? Where'd it come from?" Astounded by its sudden appearance, she stood up and followed it around the room, when a sharp wind blew from behind her.

Twisting around, Rukia was faced with a darkly dressed man. Like some sort of anachronistic feudal warrior who stepped through a time portal. His hair a bright orange color, his brown eyes furrowed as he looked around, ignoring her presence. A huge sword was sheathed on his back, and he near-silently stepped onto the hard wood floor—his own wooden sandals clacked as he did so.

Looking around again, the man breathed intensely, as if he were hunting. His hand let go of his sword handle, and returned to his side. Exhaling loudly one more time, his gaze became more intense and controlled.

"What's with all the bunnies?"

* * *

**Some words from the Typewriter**

Excellent..my plan to get everyone's sympathy with pathetic whining worked...good...good...

Anyways, only slight differences, since Ichigo and Rukia are quite similar in character (for certain parts of the story anyways)

It's obvious that later on, things are going to get radically different, but until then--I've gotten _really _good at typing with one hand. You know...while the other holds a manga up... You sicko...

**Fun Facts: **

-The amount of money I get for writing this? $0

-The amount of money I get for basically reprinting dialogue? -$500,000 in copywrite infringement.

(Not a good thing...)

**_...legalities..._**

Everything belongs to Tite Kubo..._everything..._


	3. Strawberry and the Girl

_"Its close…the enormous spirit energy…is in there…"_

The darkly dressed figure glanced down towards the building across the street from him. Although light poured through the open window, it wouldn't matter at all anyways. He easily jumped the distance of the street with ease; the laws of physics were lessened on those of the dead. This was more so proven when he used the hell butterfly to phase through the second story wall.

As he casually floated down the floor of the room, a certain theme screamed out to his ocular senses, and then to his eyes. From the ceiling to the bed sheets, even to faint outlines in the wall paper.

"What's with all the bunnies?" He asked out loud. He searched around the room, losing the trail of the energy he had been searching for earlier. Walking over towards the bed, he gawked at the fluffiness of the character imprinted on the sheet.

"You got a problem with that, Mister Burglar!?" A sharp kick to the back of his head knocked him over the bed, and tumbling to the floor on the opposite side. "How do you like it now, huh!? That you got a closer look!?!"

He was stunned beyond belief. Sure, he noticed the human girl at her desk when he phased through the wall…but he couldn't sense spirit energy to signal any clairvoyant abilities. "You…you can **see **me?!!" The man clamored to his feet from the opposite side of bed. "And you **kicked **me!?

"Heck yeah I can see you." The raven haired girl answered casually. "You think you're some kind of ninja with that getu-" A giant burlap sack appeared from the bedroom door, enveloping the girl and a hairy chinned man latched onto the opening and darted his eyes warily around the room.

"Alright intruder, now you can't take my daughter's virginity unless you marry her first! Should she accept, you'll get the key to open up the bag!!" The sack shuffled and jerked around, causing the hairy man to glance down at the bag opening. Popping her head through, the raven haired girl managed to head butt the man in the process.

"What the hell's wrong with you old man!? Don't attack me while we're being robbed!!" Looking around slightly calmer, the bearded man scratched his chin in confusion.

"What robbery? Don't you know that today's your monthly drill?"

"What!?" She exclaimed. "What about the lame ninja guy here?"

"It is no use." The darkly clothed man said. "Normal people cannot see me."

"Alright Rukia, I'm going to perform the drill with the other girls now…"

"I'm a…Soul Reaper."

* * *

"Oh really…" Rukia crossed her arms over her chest. "So you came all the way from this _Soul Society _thing to vanquish an evil spirit. That makes sense…" She breathed deeply, and suddenly jerked her eyes open incredulously. "Are you out of you mind!?" 

"What?" The man gasped in his own form of surprise. "You can see ghosts…but you don't believe in Soul Reapers?!"

"Psh…Like I've seen a Soul Reaper before...if anything, you're just playing mind games with me. But if Dad couldn't see you, you're probably not living…" Walking over to the taller boy, Rukia casually began to push him towards the window. "Just go and play your little mind games with someone else, alright, Strawberry?"

"Mind games, huh?" Turning to face the smaller girl, the orange haired Soul Reaper pointed his middle and index fingers towards her. "Binding spell number one: Sai!!"

Sharp pains shot all throughout her body. It was if both of her arms were caught in a vice grip, and were tied to her body. Her legs too, crumpled from a sudden shock to her nerves, and she fell to the floor with a light thump. She took a sharp breath from pain, while the darkly dressed man smirked at the results. She scowled at the fact that loomed over her arrogantly, but at least he wasn't trying to catch a glimpse up her skirt.

"Geez…" She winced.

"Heh heh…it's useless to struggle, girly."

"Go ahead and talk about my hair like that…I've lived the span of ten of your lives, so I've heard every name possible. I personally don't care if you _are_ just a punk mouthed girl…but the Provisional Spirit Law forbids unauthorized executions. I'll let you off _this_ time." Contrary to what he just said, the strawberry haired Soul Reaper reached to his back the very large sword and began to unsheathe the blade.

"W-wait!"

Thrusting the hilt down first, the Soul Reaper's sword clanked slightly as it thumped on soft flesh. Rukia's heart was racing just seconds ago, but it had just slowed down to be just bearable to find the glasses wearing spirit from before to have been struck.

"Wha…?"

"No…" the spirit whimpered. "I…Don't want to go to Hell!"

"Calm down." The Soul Reaper sighed out. "What awaits you isn't Hell. It's Soul Society." Glowing, the spirit exhaled from surprise. "Unlike Hell, it is a restful place..." The spirit, still glowing, began to phase through the floor. Once its whole body was enveloped by the dark portal, a butterfly fluttered out; exiting through the window and into the night sky.

"What…what happened?" Rukia swallowed to clear her parched throat. "Where's the ghost?"

"I sent him to Soul Society. I performed_ Konso_, the 'Spirit Funeral'." Standing up straight, the Soul Reaper sheathed the menacing sword on his back. "You know it as 'Passing On.' It is one of the duties of a Soul Reaper. I doubt that asking if you believe me or not really matters anymore…"

"So I'll explain so that even _you _can understand. Be silent and listen." He raised his hand to display his two fingers, as if counting. "Now, in this realm, there are two types of souls. The first type, are the "_Wholes", _the normal spirits. The ghosts you know are of this type."

"Now the other type…We call _"Hollows"_. Hollows attack the living and the dead indiscriminately, and devour their souls. Hollows are **evil **spirits. Any questions so far?"

"Yeah…th-o…they're like thi-th?" Rukia mumbled. In her mouth, was a black sharpie, and in front of her on a white piece of paper, were two cutely (and crudely) drawn animals. One, a bunny labeled "Wholes", while the "Hollows" were represented by a menacing (but still cute looking) bear…thing.

"How did you…_more_ bunnies?" The Soul Reaper skeptically asked, and was hit by a marker-projectile in retaliation. "Anyways…he growled as he wiped away marker from his face, "We Soul Reapers have two principle duties…First, to conduct Wholes to Soul Society by means of Konso…and second, to vaporize Hollows; which is my mission now."

"Hang on." Rukia, who was busy illustrating his explanations, spat a second maker to the floor and looked up at her captor. "You mean there's a Hollow around here now?"

"Yeah…" He simply answered.

"So what are you doing standing around playing 'Bondage Party'!? Go vaporize it!!"

"What?" He stammered. After regaining his composure, the man glanced out the open window in thought. "The thing is, I haven't been able to sense its presence for some time now…"

"Wha…Why not?-"

**_VAWOOOOOOOM!!!_**

"_Ahh…what was…that?" _A drop of sweat ran down her face, and she involuntarily shuddered at the sudden sound.

"…Like some force obstructing my senses…" He continued to hypothesize out loud.

"Hey, Soul Reaper!!"

"What's wrong, now?" He sighed once again.

"_What's wrong_?! That bloodcurdling howl; What was that?!!"

"Bloodcurdling…howl?" His eyebrows furrowed at the mention of it, but he didn't hear any-

_**GWAAOOOON!!!!!!**_

His eyes bulged at the sound. He instinctively grabbed his sword, and incredulously gazed at the raven haired girl. _"That was…The cry of a **Hollow**!!"

* * *

**Some words from the Typewriter:** _

Vawoom...Gwaaoon...yeah...

You should check out Z_ero no Tsukaima_...it's good for you...

**_...legalites..._**

Everything belongs to Tite Kubo...except my heart...


	4. Stabbed in the heart

**Before we start the story:**

Imagine a version of _Hellsing_ with Seras, Alucard and Integra switched.

That's right...**blows your mind**, huh? _

* * *

_

_I heard it!! That was…the cry of a Hollow!!_

For the orange haired Soul Reaper, this drastic turn of events was really quite unexpected. There was no way that he could've missed out on the beast's presence, but from experience, it was like he heard its cry through some unseen filter.

The only thing more surprising was the fact that this small raven haired girl, who had the ability to see, speak and even touch him was just…unfathomable.

_How could this one have…heard the howl before I sensed it?_

A large crash from downstairs interrupted his thoughts, quickly followed by a sharp, high pitched scream.

"That was Yuzu!" The young girl screamed out. The darkly dressed man headed towards the door, leaving her restrained on the floor. "Hey! Where are you going!?" The Soul Reaper ignored her question at first, before turning around to face her.

"I'm going to go kill it!! STAY HERE!!" He commanded.

"Hold up!! That's my _family _being attacked!! **Undo your spell!! NOW!!**"

He couldn't help but growl at the you girl's insolence, cursing at her continued ignorance of the danger presented. "Don't be a fool!!" He yelled back, "There isn't anything you can do! You'll only succeed in adding to the body count! BE QUIET AND LEAVE THIS TO ME! UNDERSTAND!?"

Rukia didn't know _what _to say to that. She lowered her head slightly upon realizing her role in this, but a second part of her truly believed the Soul Reaper's promise. Finally able to quiet the girl down, the Soul Reaper proceeded with opening the door to the hallway.

**GWOOOooooOOO!!!**

_What…this spirit energy?! _He was slightly pushed back by the sudden surge, and braced as if an intense heat was emanating form a great fire from downstairs. _I didn't sense it until now…_

"R-Rukia…" a soft voice groaned from down the hall. The man froze, almost forgetting that most humans weren't like the girl behind her. Crawling weakly to the room, the younger raven haired girl managed to bring herself into view of her older sister. "…are you okay?"

"Karin!!" Rukia gasped at seeing blood run down from the girl's forehead.

"Good…it hasn't come this way…" she surmised in a weak voice. "It happened so fast…Dad's back exploded and he fell…then it went for me and Yuzu…so fast…" Rukia's eyebrows furrowed as the girl recalled her tale to her, "…I thought…had to warn…sis…"

Grinding her teeth, Rukia tried to desperately pull against whatever bound her arms together; she had to take care of her sister. "What is it…?" Karin continued, "I didn't get a good look…I don't think Yuzu and Dad could see it…Rukia…HURRY…before it finds you…RUN…" the young girl smiled weakly while saying this, happy that she was able to warn her older sister before closing her haggard eyes.

"It's okay." The Soul Reaper quickly checked over the girl. "She just passed out." He overheard increasing growls from the bound teenager, and jumped to his feet when he realized what she was doing. "Stop!" He commanded, "STOP! No human's strength is enough to break the Kido!!" No matter how much he tried, the girl wouldn't listen, and she continued her resistance. **"If you force it, your soul will**…"

Jumping to her feet, the young girl panted heavily from her exertion, but her determined eyes ran passed him as she ran out of the room. Standing in pure shock, the man only realized what had happened as soon as she passed him by.

_Impossible…'Bunny girl' broke the Kido by her own power?!_

_That can't be!!_

More astounding was the fact that the girl immediately grabbed a baseball bat, and darted out of the room. "Wait!!" He called after her, and he chased her down the stairs. _What is she…?_

"Yuzu!! Dad!!" Rukia screamed madly. Dropping nearly three steps at a time, she landed on the first floor and quickly took cover behind a wall. Peeking out slowly, Rukia cautiously surveyed the broken wall, destroyed furniture, and smoky clouds of dust and debris. She gasped and ran over to her fallen father, and was relieved to find that he still had a pulse. Movement attracted her eyes ahead, towards the gaping hole and what remained of the kitchen wall. Amidst the smoke, a huge dark figure loomed about just outside in the streets, as it turned to face her.

**DOOOoooOOOM**

Its face a bleach white, a mask of vile description sat perched on a grotesque form of a body.

_It…it's a Hollow!! _A huge difference in height between them, Rukia's eyes bulged at the sight of the demonic behemoth. _When he said **evil spirit**, I thought it'd look human…but it's a MONSTER!!_

Her eyes were fixated on the beast, no matter how ugly her brain told her eyes; she couldn't look away. Her body trembled with fear, and the bat in her had clunked and jittered against the hard wood flooring. _This is bad! Really bad! _She said to herself. _Why am I shaking?!_

_I'm not afraid of that thing!! I've seen tons of ghosts! It's just another one!! _To the dismay of her train of thought, no ghosts had ever tried to harm her or her family…unlike that of this beast that held Yuzu's terrified form in its massive hand.

"Yuzu!!" Rukia's grip on the wooden bat strengthened, and her body pumped even more adrenaline into her system.

"…Rukia…!" The small blonde girl gasped out. Unable to sit idle for any longer, Rukia charged the beast, clutching the bat in both hands. Yelling out as she ran, her heart skipped a beat when a giant fist came crashing towards her. Using the bat as a makeshift shield, Rukia was tossed all the back into her house, crashing into the wall in the process. Her back and ribs ached and roared in pain, but she managed to recover and push her small and lithe frame to a sitting position. Leaning against the wall and coughing, her violet eyes bulged again at the sight of the annihilated baseball bat. A shadow was cast over her head, and the whoosh of the Hollow's monstrous fist screamed in her ears as it crashed down upon her.

**GRAAWRRR!!**

The creature's wails shook her again, but she was still generally alive at the moment. The slight sprinkling of wetness spattered on her face, causing her to open her eyes in curiosity. Upon doing so, Rukia witnessed the darkly dressed man drive his large blade through the Hollow's forearm. Immediately letting go of the small girl in its grasp, the Soul Reaper bounced off the ground upon landing and caught her in one arm. "Here..." He said as he handed the girl over and Rukia immediately tried to shake her sister to consciousness.

"Yuzu! You okay!?" Tears openly fell down her cheeks as she nervously shook in panic.

"Hey Girly, shut it!!" He called towards the raven haired teen. "The Hollow hasn't eaten any of your family's souls yet!"

"It…it hasn't?" Rukia sniffled once, and wiped her tears away.

"Not even the soul of your father, who lies on the floor." The orange haired Soul Reaper said, as he pointed his large sword towards the lumbering beast.

"Wait! You said that Hollows attack people to eat their souls!!" Rukia yelled back. "So why'd that thing attack my family-"

"Hollows are drawn to high levels of spirit energy…but they also attack opportunistically." He began to explain.

"What does that mean?"

Keeping his back towards the girls, he scowled towards the grimacing smile of the waiting Hollow. "I've never known a human who could see a Soul Reaper…or break a binding spell before…I've never heard of a human with so much energy…" Turning to face her, the Soul Reaper's face wore a serious look. "I think he was looking…for you!"

"What?! He was after me!?" She exclaimed. "All this…was because of me?!" The beast haven recovered from its sword wound, stood up on its two legs. "My father's dying over there…Karin…and Yuzu bleeding…all of this…"

"Wait…" He tried to explain, "That's not what I meant…" From behind, the Hollow raised its arm, and threw a horizontal swipe at the Soul Reaper, throwing him across the street and into a guard wall.

"Soul Reaper!" She gasped out. The deafening cry of the Hollow brought her eyes forward, where the beast lumbered towards its prey.

"Shit…I failed to guard my flank…" The orange haired man cursed at his own stupidity. The Hollow's cry brought him back to the task at hand and his brown eyes grew wide at leaving the girl unprotected.

"Hey…you want my soul?" Rukia asked the monster in front of her. "Forget the others!! It's me you want!! So kill ME!!" she screamed, and waved her arms about to attract the Hollow's attention.

"Damn it!!"

Roaring once again, the Hollow opened its mouth wide, and charged teeth first towards the small girl. Blood splattered and squirted into the air, as soft flesh was chomped…but not Rukia's. Its massive teeth managed to puncture the Soul Reaper all over, but not before he engraved his blade between the Hollow's front teeth, causing wails of pain.

"Soul Reaper!!"

"Idiot…" he answered painfully. "Stupid, stupid girl." Crawling towards the wall, the bleeding form of the man managed to lean against it and present his dark clothes, soaked in blood. "Did you honestly think it would be over if you gave him your soul? Then you _are _a fool!" Rukia gulped and shuddered over the man's words.

"I'm sorry…I just wanted to…"

"I'm not going to bullshit you…I'm too messed up to fight it…It's just a matter of time…until we all become that bastard's food."

_It's all my fault…We're all going to die!_

"...Do you wish to save your family?" He panted out.

"What? Just tell me how!! I'll do anything!!" Rukia pleaded. Grinning weakly at her immediate response, he drew his large sword, and pointed it straight at her.

"Then _you_ must…become a **Soul Reaper**…"

"What? What are you talking about?" She exclaimed back, "I can't be a-"

"-you can! Place the point of the Zanpakuto, ghost-cutter, over your heart." He described the large sword in his hands. "And I'll infuse you with half of my soul reaper powers—that should be more than enough for this lummox." He kept a serious face even as he said this. "You'll temporarily have the powers of a Soul Reaper…to give you a chance against the Hollow."

"Are you sure…can you do something like that?"

"To be honest…I don't know. The chance of success is low, and if we fail, you_ die!" _Seeing the nervously look on her face, he continued, "But, there is **no **other way!! Nor time to think about it."

Her heart trembled at her choices…how could she decide to,,,

"…Rukia…" the small blonde girl mewed in pain, "Where are you..? …Rukia…"

"Yuzu…is she having a bad dream?"

"Don't come…danger…run…Rukia…"

_My sisters…were worrying about me when **they** were in danger! _

Wiping away blood and tears form her face; Rukia looked down towards the orange haired man and took one more preparatory breath. "Well, Bunny Girl?" The man asked.

"Give me the sword, Soul Reaper. We'll try your plan." Grinning again at her choice, the man lifted the sword to rest against her body and adjusted his grip on the handle.

"By the way…" She interrupted his focus.

"What is it?"

"The name's not 'Bunny Girl'. I'm Rukia Kurosaki…"

"Oh…Ichigo Kuchiki, nice to meetchya…" The renewed scream of the Hollow approaching them caught Ichigo's eye, and he seriously stared into the girl's violet ones. "Ready?" Looking seriously into the man's brown eyes, she delicately wrapped her hands on the blade nearest to the hilt.

"Yes."

* * *

**Some words from the Typewriter:**

At this sluggish pace, by the time I finish with the first volume, I should have 10+ chapters. Guess what, there are 17+ volumes...\

Two imaginary points for every grammer/speling mistake you find.

**_...legalites..._**

-The only reason Tite Kubo hasn't sued me yet...is because he doesn't know about this...

-Same can be said about Kohta Hirano...what a great guy...


	5. Starter

I bought this awesome Bleach shirt...they're selling it on VGcats(dot)com_

* * *

_

_The flash of light…the scream of the beast…it's all too unreal…_

He couldn't believe…that a mere human could have such immediate control of their Shinigami powers…after countless decades of training, even he couldn't suppress all of his reiatsu, and it always leaked out just slightly.

"_This girl though, Rukia…what sheer control…" _Dresssed in a white kimono, he was all too aware that all of his powers have been stripped from him; not just half. "_She might go mad from it...!!" _

Lopping off the Hollow's right foot, the small raven haired girl continuously charged in a mad spree. "That's for attacking my family YOU FISH-FACED FREAK!!" Immediately slashing down, the white mask split at a terrible speed, disintegrating into mere smoke.

Her violet eyes blinked once more, and then she exhaled and collapsed to the ground. Struggling to get up, Ichigo instead crawled over to the unconscious form in an unexplained panic.

"Don't worry about it…" a man's voice calmly said.

"Heh?"

* * *

Around her, dust and clouds skewed her view. She was still dressed in the strange dark garb known as a shihakusho. 

"Ow…what's going on, Rukia…" A man groaned in pain. His ripped and tattered doctor's coat fluttered in the dead wind.

"Rukia-neechan…it hurts…" A small girl whined.

"I thought when you became a Shinigami…You'd save us!?"

"Oooww!!"

Looking away at the zombified versions of her family, Rukia spotted the orange haired man standing behind her. Raising his hand to salute, he smiled a blank and toothy smile, "**I am sorry**" his monotonous voice said, "**You were too late!**"

"_Good-"_

"Too late!?" She called out in surprise.

"_-Morning-"_

"Then I…For nothing…"

"_RUKI...AAA!!"_

"HAI-YAHHHH!!!" A large scream called out, so loud that even those passerby heard from outside. A loud smack followed, and the goat haired man was shoved down to the bed by her shoed foot. "What kind of freak attacks his daughter in her sleep?!"

"I…just wanted to hug my daughter…" his voice muffled out. "You looked so cute…"

"Hey old man, where are your wounds?" The old man's eye snuck out into view, surprised at what she asked.

"Wounds? What wounds?" Her own eyes furrowed at this, not knowing what to say.

"Say what?"

* * *

Sitting in a chair, staring off blankly, the auburn haired girl blinked not once since seeing him. Her book, the 'Encyclopedia of the Stars' lay flat in her lap as the school bell rang. The slight breeze, allowed into the room through the open window behind her, brushed the nape of her neck with its warm gentle caress. 

Her grey school uniform, which hugged her gracious curves with all too much talent, shifted about as she sat. Breathing in and out idly, she sighed loudly.

"Hey, stop that." Another uniformed girl approached. "Don't waste your youth daydreaming!" Placing her hands on her hips, she smirked as the auburn haired girl snapped out of her reverie.

"Tatski-chan…"

"I see you're taken by the new guy…" The tall raven haired girl said suddenly.

"Huh?"

"…" Sighing to herself, the raven haired girl bent down so her face was at level with her elusive friend. "What's so great about him, Orihime? He's got tweaked out hair, he's sitting away from everyone, and he hasn't even introduced himself… a girl with boobs like yours could do a lot better."

"He's funny!" The long haired girl replied. A stupid grin popped on her face.

"Wuh…?"

"When I think of his scowling face…" Quietly sitting, Orihime suddenly burst into a raucous laughter. "It's hilarious!!"

"Um, okay…"

"Hey, did you guys hear about Rukia-san?" A male student interjected from his seat. "She may be absent today."

"Mizuiro…How come?" Tatski questioned.

"It was like this," the perm wearing boy began to explain, "I was passing by her place this morning and there was this big hole in her house. They said a truck plowed into it in the middle of the night—so her dad said…"

"A truck!?" Tatski exclaimed, "So!? Is she hurt!? Or maybe-"

A bag slapped her head before she could finish, and looking at her attacker, a smaller raven haired girl stared back with an uninterested look. "Sorry to disappoint you, we all survived."

"Good morning, Rukia-chan!"

"Hey there Orihime-chan."

"So you're not fixing your house then?" Tatski asked her friend.

"Yeah...I was able to speak to Miss Ochi, and she didn't think too much about it."

"Hey, Rukia…took you long enough to get here…" a voice scowled from beside her. Stiffening at the familiar voice, she slowly turned her neck towards her left, where the furrowed brows of an orange haired brute stared. He wore the male uniform of her school, but it clearly didn't look like he knew how to wear it properly.

"What…are you…"

"Oh, this is Ichigo Kuchiki. He started here yesterday, but it seems like you already know each other…." Mizuiro popped in. "It's an unusual time to transfer, but his family had to move."

"Why are you…" she pointed with a trembling (out of surprise) hand.

"Yo, I don't have any textbooks yet. So, I'm going to borrow yours."

_What…?_

"K, Rukia?"

"**_IS HE OUT OF HIS MIND?!"

* * *

_**

**Some words from the Typewriter**

Now I've updated two stories since Spring Break, and one more to go.

Orihime's entrance is a funny story, since it took me a bit of thinking to come up with it...basically, I was tempted for a bit to make her daydream about Rukia, but that would kinda change her character, wouldn't it?

And why'd I skip the the construction scene from the Kurosaki family? It would take away time from writing about my cute Orihime..._pyon_...

**_...legalities... _**

Tite Kubo...the other, _other _mangaka...

Tite Kubo...not just for breakfast anymore

Tite Kubo...what's in _your _collection?

Tite Kubo...because I'm _worth_ it


	6. Reason to stay

Do you think it's weird that an imaginary pink haired girl hangs around with me? Maybe you should just go and celebrate mothers day...

* * *

It was lunch break now, and despite the sheer craziness of the situation, things seemed to stay relatively quiet—until the bell rang. Rukia, who was seated awkwardly close to the 'new boy', walked over to his seat and kicked him in the shin, eliciting attention toward her without so much as a word. 

Without answering his irritated scowl with words, she retaliated with her own, until finally walking out of the room—the boy figured he was supposed to follow. She led him towards the track field outside, and then began walking in between the main building and the sheds, almost like a virtual alleyway for them to discuss the previous night's events in private.

"So, what's up, baby?" The orange haired brute said in a cocky manner behind her.

Almost tripping when she heard this, Rukia quickly spun on her heels and glared at the boy as frustrated as she's ever felt. "Never…say that again…" she commanded, poking a small feminine digit into his gut. Ichigo backed off in response, his palms in view in a surrender-like motion.

"Whatever…" he said simply, and shoved his hands back into the pants of his pockets. "But I'm not going anywhere for a while, midget…"

Ignoring the rude comment, Rukia decided to focus on the boy's refusal to leave. She furrowed her well shaped brows, and circled about the boy as if outside some prescribed radius. "What do you mean? Just use one of those butterflies and-"

"-It's not as simple as that…" Ichigo interrupted the small girl's command. "You took it all…my powers…" He left certain aspects of the situation out, not wanting to give the human any ideas that could potentially get him killed by his superiors or worse—being the embarrassment of his squad forever. It was the boy's turn to do the poking, although he poked her forehead with his right index finger because of the height difference. "Thanks to you, I have to wear this gigai until my powers return…and that's going to take a while…" He kept poking the girl's forehead. That is, until she finally smacked it away with her own out of irritation.

"What the hell are you rambling about, '_Gigais'?"_

Ichigo sighed, and yet smirked when he glanced at her once again. Taking out his left hand from his pocket, he pushed his hand against the small girl's forehead once again, only this time it was covered in a fingerless glove; a skull engulfed in flames on the backside of it.

The sheer surprise of his shove sent Rukia flying backwards, plopping against the concrete ground with a fleshy thump. "What was that for, baka!?" She screamed, managing a kick to the taller boy's face. Her sandal covered foot instantly connected with his face, although it did more to kick her away than it did to push his face in. Crashing once again a foot away, Rukia was taken off guard by her sudden change of garb, although the sword at her side seemed to be much more useful for this situation.

Before she could unsheathe the bladed weapon, Ichigo walked past her, a cell phone in hand and an unconscious form of a uniformed girl lying face down on the ground. "Come with me…" He said simply, although a foot once again connected to his face.

"And leave my body lying here? I'm not some _guy_, if you haven't noticed…" Rukia said bluntly. Ichigo simply stared at her, and silently glanced back and forth between the two Rukias in front of him. Without a word, he walked back towards the body, turned her over to her back, and then draped her arms over his shoulders—essentially giving her a piggyback ride once he managed to grasp her thighs.

"_Now_…come with me…" He said, and began walking towards the school gate, leaving the darkly robed girl behind before she hesitantly chased after him.

* * *

**Some words from the Typewriter**

Finally moved back home for the summer after two semesters of college, and I've still yet to clean the room of all the stuff...yet I've managed to set up the computer...geez...

Recently bought **_Command and Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars_** for the PC, and I've got to say...wow...

It's definitely been a while since I got back to this story, and I'm in the process of making more original stuff happen, rather than just copying the manga and switching some roles...there could be a lot of original stuff happen if I just believe, and devour a little fairy for imagination sustenance...

I'll be working on my Beta'ing side job for _Bronx Shogun_ before I get started on Ichigo, so you should just check out his stuff...

**Yachiru: **Hai, hai!! It does seem like you're crazy, ne, Ken-chan!?

Wait...what?

**Yachiru: **That you're always pretending to have imaginary characters speak out...it also makes you seem kind of like a pedoph-

Ok there...I get it...no need to broadcast that, hehe...


	7. Decision that breaks the divide

XY chromosome for life...word...

* * *

The leaves ruffled against the soft breeze. Eerie creaks from the unused playground equipment played background music for the two's arrival. Although being a very well known children's park, at the moment, no one else than the two—three if you counted her unoccupied body—people who entered from the street. Currently, the orange haired boy led the way inwards until finding an empty bench, and laid the schoolgirl he was carrying down carefully. 

With a relative increase of ease, Rukia managed to finally breathe out and kept watch next to the boy. A single leaf fluttered by, caught by a breeze until landing atop the 'sleeping girl' lying on the bench. Five minutes passed just standing there, and then ten, and then ultimately twenty. "You…" she sighed with contempt directed at the boy, but he refused to immediately acknowledge her complaint.

"Just wait…it won't be long now…" was his eventual answer. Irritated with his response, Rukia gave in and gently flicked off the resident leaf off of her lying body.

"You're kidding me, right? It's already _been_ twenty minutes!"

"Do ghosts come to this park?" He crossed his arms—well technically, they were already crossed, but he just switched his arms overlapping to a different order—over his chest and stared off to the unused equipment. In his gray school uniform, just barely leaned against the small white bar railing that separated the park from the main streets.

She glanced downwards in thought, trying to recollect which spirit she had come across in the park. Without a word, she stood up, her wooden shoes clacking against the concrete. Opening her hand in a horizontal open palm posture, she stretched upwards to her forehead to measure what seemed to be a height. "There's one, actually…" She lowered her hand downwards until it was the height of her waist, "…a boy about five years old, about this tall…" Rukia quickly smiled at the thought of the spirit child, "he likes to call me 'Big Sister'…but why did you want to know that?"

Ichigo merely ruffled through his pockets until finally taking out a metallic object, and unceremoniously tossed it for her to catch. It was a normal looking cell phone, though the text was anything but.

_YUMIZAWA CHILDREN'S PARK_

_20M_

_12:00 PM_

_+ - 15 MIN_

"What's this?" Rukia wondered at the strange message on the screen.

"It's an order…" he explained, "From Soul Society." Pushing his weight off of the white metal bar, Ichigo walked a few steps before stopping, simply watching off towards the playground. "Twelve P.M., plus or minus fifteen minutes. Within a twenty meter radius of Yumizawa Children's Park…a Hollow will appear…and it'll probably attack the child." His face lacked emotion at the news, quite the opposite of the look of surprise Rukia gave off.

Her violet eyes stared at the small rectangular screen with disbelief. Breaking the tense silence, a young scream shouted out from elsewhere in the park. In the distance, Rukia gasped at the sight of the young boy, who had so many times before called for his 'Big Sister' to play with a face of glee, run with such terror and panic from the monster behind him.

"Sister!!" His young voice shrieked out, "Sister!!" A shadow cast over him as the boy ran, cast by a masked monster that could only be described as spider-like. Its many legs worked to chase after its young and panic-stricken prey. With one claw-like leg, it struck at the child, but missed as he barely dodged with terrified whining.

"No!" Rukia screamed out, as she immediately took off towards the child while simultaneously beginning to draw her sword.

"Wait…!" She halted at Ichigo's bellow, and quickly turned to glance at the orange haired boy with confusion. Despite the dire situation, he was emotionless. No anger, no empathy for the terrorized boy… "You have a decision to make now…"

"What are you talking about, of course I do!" Rukia screamed back, and looked again towards where she last spotted the monster, "…now I'm going to go save that-"

"That's the thing…" he added, "The powers that you have are of a Soul Reaper. By saving him, you'll have to start on a path of obligation of saving anyone who needs help, whether you know them or not, or if it happens in front of you or out of sight…" She gripped her sword hilt tightly at the sudden crossroad, but most of all, she was pissed off that now he had to suddenly spring this on her. "Are you ready for such responsibility, to be willing to go anywhere? Even to sacrifice yourself for them!?"

She didn't answer him. No, there was no way she _could _answer him. '_Sacrifice myself…'_ She thought. A small thump in front caused her to look up once again, where the boy had fallen and the Hollow had stopped right on top of him. _'…that's right…' _Gripping her sword, she took off towards them, and deftly sliced her blade through the retracted leg ready to attack the boy. The sudden strike took the Hollow off balance, forcing it to fall backwards as blood spurted out from its sword wound.

"So…your mind's made up then?" He asked her calmly, walking at a casual pace towards the Rukia and the young boy.

"_You_ wait…" Rukia grumbled softly. Without so much as a pause, Ichigo continued to walk towards her. "I don't know anything about being a Soul Reaper or doing your job…" she added, her voice was soft and controlled. Her dark hair skewed the view of her face, as she held her Zanpakuto with a sense of natural and dance-like talent. "…You talk about self-sacrifice and commitment towards all, but that just comes natural to anyone whom I consider my family…"

Although he slowed in his pace, he didn't stop, just as the girl a few feet away slowly turned to face him. The bangs of her hair swayed as she pivoted, showing her serious demeanor towards the orange haired boy. "…But what about you?" It was at this that he finally halted, amazed at her sudden and stern tone of voice. "You sacrificed yourself that night to save me…was that just your duty as a Soul Reaper?" She scoffed with a breath at the thought, and let the boy just ahead of her know of it as well.

"Duty is no reason to sacrifice yourself!!" she called out now, "At least…" swinging again with her Zanpakuto, Rukia nimbly dodged what was left of the Hollow's other front leg, and stabbed her sword point into its masked face with dubious precision. "…not for me!!" Slicing through its head, the sword was like a hot knife through butter, sending the monster to the ground with a sickening thud. "This is the craziest thing I've ever heard of…Soul Society, fighting monsters…its all absurd…" The small boy had all but crawled to the taller girl, and wrapped his arms around her waist. Wrapping her own unarmed right around the boy's head, Rukia turned towards the orange haired boy again, her face and large violet eyes more emotive with sheer disbelief. "Whether this is a comic come to life, or some sick nightmare, the one thing that I _do _know is that anyone who risked their life to save my family can't be bad at all…"

She had lowered her sword a while ago; the weight of the weapon somehow had gained sheer mass since swinging it through the flesh and bone of her second kill in her life, albeit was a monster. Her heavy pants of breath lessened now that the adrenaline rush was beginning to wear off, and her face loosened from its potentially wrinkle-creating scowl. The tight embrace around her waist began to loosen as well, allowing her to idly ruffle the boy's hair with her spare hand. "I'll help you out…" she finally said to break the silence, "…with this Soul Reaper job of yours…"

For the first time that she could remember, Ichigo smiled genuinely towards her. She knew because it wasn't toothy, nor did it seemed forced at all. He looked good like that.

--

The three of them were casually walking back to the school they had ditched; Rukia, Ichigo and her body, that is. They were quiet most of the way, mainly because of Rukia wanting a chance to calm down a bit, while Ichigo looked around with hidden curiosity—he feigned nonchalant-ness to do so—while Rukia's body…was just the quiet type.

"Hey, something happened to Ms. Kurosaki!" a voice called from the school's direction, "the new guy's carrying her unconscious!"

"What? Where!?" a gruff older voice responded. Looking at each other, Rukia and Ichigo had some explaining to do.

* * *

**Author's notes:**

Here we are, chapter 7! Anyways, I've been working hard with these stories that I started off with on a whim (this, Ichigo, Teacher Toshirou...) and I've really thought long and hard about what to do storywise. After much deliberation with myself, I think you're gonna like what's to come!

I've also taken to note everyone's opinion on the premise on this story, and found that a lot of the guys feel emasculated at the thought of Ichigo and Rukia switching roles in the Soul Society Arc. Let me tell you, if you didn't like Leia saving Han Solo (Star Wars reference), then you have some learning to do...and that's coming from a _**GUY!**_

**_...legalities..._**

Bleach (c) Tite Kubo

Star Wars (c) George Lucas


	8. Tenshi Shirayuki

**Warning:** This is a timeline skip made purely out of boredom. The regular story will return after the holidays.

* * *

The cliffs high above the Seireitei had all been evacuated with the exception of two. Still, though, there seemed to be nobody there for the faintest moment…

_**CLASH**_

The two fighters appeared from nowhere before pushing off each other's lunged blade. Taking a staunchly defensible position toward the edge of a cliff was the calm faced captain of the sixth division. With an analytical glare, he watched as his opponent took the high ground of a sunken boulder. Despite being smaller in stature, the raven haired teen displayed no signs of fatigue whatsoever.

"I see." Byakuya spoke first, "So you've mastered _shunpo_ as well…still…"

"You really are a cool one, aren't you?" She interrupted his speech, "You're analyzing me like I'm no threat, but…It's all a big act." Imitating the apathetic look of her opponent's face, Rukia had found herself picking up some things from her fights like with Renji and the others. Although greatly out of her character, the taunting seemed to have some effect with Byakuya, regardless of how much he tried to hide it. "Weren't you going to kill me?" Moving to a more casual pose, the role she was acting seemed to be slowly mixing in with the adrenaline that flowed through her veins. "Show me…your_Bankai_…"

His eyes leered at the word, as if it was taboo for an outsider to even know of its existence.

"You said that you were going to kill me…and execute Ichigo yourself." She restated the facts toward him.

"So?"

"You make me sick!" Her own character showed through suddenly, as her emotions flowed through her widened violet eyes toward the emotionless man before her. "I'm going to hit you…with _everything_ I have. I'm going to crush..._every_ last of your powers." Breathing deeply now, Rukia eyed Byakuya with scathing emotion. "Execute your own brother…?" she could not even imagine the logic behind such thought. "Release your Bankai. I'll crush it."

Byakuya had stood silently as Rukia made her pledge, though his face hadn't changed at all throughout all of her threats. "Talk is cheap…_girl_…" he began as he slowly raised his blade up. "No matter what you say…my mind will never change. Neither will both your fates. Bankai? Don't be absurd. I won't need to use my Bankai against you…for at least a thousand years." Holding up his zanpakuto, the man closed his eyes as his sword disintegrated from view. "Scatter…Senbonzakura…"

Reflecting light to look like harmless pink cherry blossom leaves, the attack sweltered toward an un-intimidated Rukia, who stood her ground before the last second. Slashing her blade with all of her might, a burst of icy cold wind blasted through the deadly swarm of blades, leaving a trail of ice straight toward Byakuya. His left hand guard was made completely useless by being frozen over, and dropped to the unfrozen ground next to him to shatter like glass. His hand itself was covered in a light frost, and a small trickle of red flowed down where a shard had pierced his skin.

"What was that?" A single white wisp of air exited his mouth before the chills began to give way to the higher temperature all around. "Is that your zanpakuto's power…Rukia Kurosaki!?" As the light mist of temperature differences began to rise and clear up, an icy clear path was carved though the rocky surface between the two of them.

"At the moment of attack, it consumes my spirit energy…and fires a super high concentration of spiritual pressure from the tip of my blade. Then the attack is transformed into a massive wave of ice. That's Sode no Shirayuki's power."

Unaffected by the surprise, Byakuya stood at the ready as Rukia answered his question. "_Hakuren_…" she explained the attack's name.

"White Ripple?" Was all he said in response, "what an exquisite name…" he raised his blade into the air, before turning it over so that the tip was now facing the ground. "Very well…If you want it so badly…feast your eyes upon my Bankai." Loosening his grip, the zanpakuto fell to the ground, but disappeared through the ground as if it were water. Watching with widened eyes, Rukia watched with astonishment as two columns of blades grew from behind him, before all disintegrating into deadly leaves of cherry blossoms. "Bankai…_Senbonzakura Kageyoshi_."

She had dodged and tried to keep away as much as she could from the swarm of blades that followed to swallow her around the field. Without even lifting an arm, it seemed that Byakuya had somehow taken the upper hand of the battle. Jumping high into the air, she sent a wave of ice to rain upon the captain, but to her dismay, the living cloud had moved to intercept. As she landed, they sought to envelop her as she attempted to flee from their razor sharp grasp. As they crashed with a shattering sound, even the ground itself had been carved from the force of their motion.

"Senbonzakura is an attack by millions of blades coming from all directions. Your zanpakuto is indeed powerful, but…" As the smoke rose, Rukia's trembling form strained to stand up amongst what icy effects to prevent her death she had done around her. Indeed, red had soaked through her bandages that were now revealed from under her shredded black shihakusho. "Despite your speed…you'll never evade it."

"I guess I was wrong…I should've known not to fight a Bankai with a _Shikai_…"

"Watch what you say, girl." Byakuya angrily said upon hearing this. "You make it sound as though you've achieved Bankai."

"Yeah…" Rukia said with a proud smirk. Even more, she smiled in response to the look of surprise that flashed in his eyes. "That's exactly…what I mean…"

"What?"

"It's just as I told you, or is it that you can't believe what you're hearing…?" Panting, Rukia glanced up once more toward a bewildered Byakuya Kuchiki with defiance in her violet eyes. Lifting her sword arm, a cold air began to settle as those same defiant eyes began to illuminate with an icy bluish-white tint. Aiming her pure white zanpakuto in front of her, the tassel wrapped itself around her arm. Her Raven hair fluttered from the increasing wind around them, before opening her mouth to speak.

"Ban…kai…"

Her shihakusho was no longer black, but pure white. In one hand she tightly gripped the pure white blade of Sode no Shirayuki in all her glory. In the other hand she held a blade completely made of ice, but by the way she held it he could see it didn't have the cold or slickness of ice. Rukia glared back toward the captain in front of her with a sudden confidence, as the very ground under her had become slick from freezing over.

"_Tenshi_…Shirayuki"

* * *

**Author's Notes:** I definitely needed to do this to stave off the _Finals Craziness_. That, and there's too many people with limited imaginations in the Bleach RP that I'm a part of online...geez...how many people have to be vizard with fire powers, anyway!? By the way, "I was in a hurry" is not an excuse for deplorable grammar and spelling! Are you on the run from Tommy Lee Jones and his never ending roles as a policeman/government agent or something!? 

**_...legalities..._**

-"Finals Craziness" is not a real medical condition but an exaggeration of stress created by Fall semester finals. **_  
_**

-Everything is based within Bleach created by Tite Kubo

-Rukia's bankai is fanon made by RadiantBeam, in "Over and Over again" chapter 23

-Tommy Lee Jones is U.S. Government property.


	9. Blood and Water

**Warning:** This is a timeline skip made purely out of boredom. The regular story will return soon enough.

* * *

In the dark void of the area he had been lured to, the orange haired shinigami's eyes were wide from what stood before him. Atop the high platform dressed in the white robes of the enemy, a gloved hand moved to remove the tall mask that covered his face. Instead of the grotesque visage that he had envisioned for a hollow, the pale skin of a human showed first, followed by dark and unkempt hair that framed a familiar scowl-like look.

His throat had tightened from surprise, as Ichigo's stuttering voice echoed off of the walls and ceiling above and around him. "…Ka…_Kaien_…!?"

-- --

**Blood and Water**

**-- -- **

The single torchlight within the darkness of the room managed to illuminate the man with an ephemeral aura, as if it weren't real, like a mirage. "Kaien…" Ichigo breathed out as he looked upwards in continual dismay, the guilt boiling up in his veins and mind as well. "Please…please say something back, Kaien…is it…is it really you?"

_**'**__**Wait!**__**' **_A single voice shouted within his head. '_What am I saying…? __Kaien's__ dead!! That night…' _The events came flooding back into his mind's eye, as every frame and every second of that night had rewound and began to play on an infinite loop. _'I did it with my _own_ hands…' _Ichigo's eyes glared downward as he tried to rationalize this situation, sure that his eyes were somehow betraying him at this moment.

"Aaah…" the second voice brought Ichigo's still terrified eyes back up, to see the man above him look down with an eerily reminiscent look of happiness. "It's been a while." The man began with a small gin of remembrance. "You look well, **Kuchiki****…**"

Ichigo was frozen to where he stood, no longer able to tell what was real or what was imaginary. The way this imposter was too true _not _to be the genuine one. Before him, the man known as Kaien Shiba jumped down to the level of ground where Ichigo stood, gracefully landing as he padded his pants down and muttered. _"These clothes are really hard to move in…" _he heard Kaien say softly to himself. Without warning, the man's eye flickered toward him, causing a faint twitch in Ichigo.

"…" Placing one hand on his hip, Kaien pointed to himself and gave a ridiculous face of anger that no one could possibly believe. "…What already!? What the heck are you actin' all weird for?" He quickly yelled without provocation, "C'mon!! _Everyone_ loves me!! You should be _happy_ to see your Lieutenant Kaien alive and well!!"

Staring still, Ichigo was now speechless for a new list of reasons. "…what? It was a joke. If you don't play along, I'll look like an idiot…" Sighing, Ichigo felt somewhat relieved that for once, his first instincts about the situation were wrong. In his mind, he knew that he was seeing Kaien in front of him. A soft grin appeared on Kaien's face, as he sighed out of relief as well. "…seems like you finally believe me after all…" Moving back toward the wall, the man opened up a secret panel that was full of small sitting cushions and tossed one to Ichigo. "There! Now sit down, I've got a million things I need to tell you!"

The two of them sat down across from one another, moving to a slightly more illuminated spot closer to the wall torches. Sitting in a relaxed pose, the raven haired man began to tell his story. About what happened after he was attacked by the hollow, and what happened when he first arrived in Hueco Mundo. "Well, I guess…my **Steel Spirit **had them _completely_ charmed beyond all expectations!" Suddenly and abruptly ending his story with another idiotic expression, a different kind of twitch surged through Ichigo.

"Kaien, you moron!! You aren't seriously _saying_ that, are you!?" he couldn't help but angrily growl over such a stupid remark from his mentor.

"Uh, yeah…you were making such a dark face…"

"This is a _serious _face, you dumbass!!!"

"I know that, don't get so angry…" Changing his attitude again, Kaien looked toward his former subordinate with a look of seriousness. "Anyway…I ended up taking control of my body again. And then, I became a member of the Espada, in order to assist me in my revenge against Aizen…outside. The sky was blue, right?" Not sure where he was going with this, Ichigo kept silent as he listened intently to what Kaien was saying. "That blue sky is the dome of Las Noches, created by Aizen. The light of that blue sky allows Aizen to _observe_ wherever he wishes…"

"Wha…?" Ichigo was taken back by that kind of information, now finally seeing how things were making sense.

"Kuchiki, you were the one who came to me…and I'm _really_ fortunate to have you here." The seriousness in Kaien's eyes were dire and determined, causing Ichigo to gulp as the tension became higher. "Because the plan I'm about to explain now…can only be completed by _you_." He quickly stood up, looking at Ichigo with his peripheral vision. "…we've gotta change our location. Follow me, Kuchiki."

"Yes sir." Ichigo promptly obeyed, and rushed after Kaien. Blinking once, the sharp tip of a sword appeared before his eyes, not leaving even a microsecond of hesitation for him to react. Exerting a push of reiatsu focused in his hand, Ichigo quickly swerved out of the way, but not without feeling warmth drip down his cheek.

Those same determined eyes had changed, to ones that were cold and manipulative. "…looks like you improved a little, _**Kuchiki**_…"

-- -- -- --

Ichigo felt another droplet fall from his cheek, splashing onto the red puddle that had formed on the ground next to his feet. This cold feeling that swirled through his bones, chilling his spine…he couldn't do anything other than stare at the man whom he once called a "brother" as if he were now a stranger.

_"…what's wrong__…__?"_

_"…Seems like you're making a pretty mysterious expression there__."_

_"…__Kuchiki__…__"_

A chilly wind seemed to exude from the man's smile, as if the cold feeling was the result of the very sunlight itself.

"I'm happy, you know!" Kaien suddenly boasted with a warm expression on his face, "If it was the old you…you would've been easily killed by a single strike. To see one's subordinate grow is the joy of a superior." He waved his arm as if the zanpakuto in his hand were a toy or a baton, not the very instrument that had carved through his cheek just moments ago.

"…wh…why…how much…of what you're saying is true?" the words came out Ichigo's mouth without thinking, unsure of what was happening around him.

"'How much is true?' " Kaien repeated his question, his cold eyes resurfaced to stare ruthlessly again. "_Everything_. What, do you think I'm fake or something? You really think me trying to kill you is anything out of the ordinary? You shouldn't have _forgotten_ already, right? I am Kaien Shiba…the ex-thirteenth Division Vice-Captain. Through the fusion of a Hollow and soul body, I'm here now." Kaien pointed toward him, targeting him directly with the frigid feeling that attacked Ichigo's very essence. "And _you _are Ichigo Kuchiki…the man who _killed_ me with his own hands."

The numbing feeling had reached its peak, shattering his frozen nerves with the words that came out of the man's mouth.

"Get it? The reason _why _I'm trying to kill you…"

He thought he was over the pain, convinced that at that point, he was numb from its effects. Ichigo had been penitent over his actions of that night, and over the years, had thought that the worst it could be was just a haunting memory. In only a matter of moments however, it only took a few words from the man he had regarded as his mentor, senior, and brother, to tear at his very soul and bring the pain surging back as if it were a freshly received wound.

"Are you…prepared to be killed by me, Kuchiki?" Kaien asked him again. Brought back to the present from his reminiscence, Ichigo stared at the raven haired man with confused eyes, bewitched by the words that continued to flow into his ears. "If you're prepared to give your life in repentance…to the very man you killed."

Sweat dripped from Ichigo's pores, and a short of breath racked at his lungs. With determination, he looked into Kaien's eyes and forced the words to come out of his mouth. "I am." Kaien was silent toward his response. "…but not just yet…" Ichigo added with hesitation in his voice, the guilt nearly crippling him as he stood there, bleeding from the face. "I can't do it yet…" From his low standing stance, he prostrated himself to rest on his knees, gripping his pants leg with a tightened grip with his hands. "I…I did kill you…I believe that crime…is something that will not fade no matter how many decades pass by. If by cutting me down, your sadness will fade even a _small _bit…then I will happily offer my life…"

"However…" with his nerves pulsing heavily, Ichigo slowly stood up from his prostrated position, gulping to quench his parched throat. "…right now, I've come here in search of Inoue…in order to help my nakama." With pleading eyes, Ichigo looked back at Kaien once more, the sweat mixing in with the red that escaped from the cut on his face. "And therefore, until we rescue Orihime Inoue…no matter what you say…I _cannot _give my life yet…!" The silence returned to the dark room again, as the flickering torchlight resumed as the background music for the two men's reunion. Even Ichigo's heavy panting was forced to stay as quiet as possible, as if the slightest noise could interrupt what Kaien could possibly say.

His hands raised up, as Kaien turned his face to the side to give a chilling look of aggravation. "Sorry!" he yelled out in an irritated tone, "That was a _joke_!" Ichigo was stunned to say the least, staring at his "brother" as if he had just spoken gibberish.

"…?"

"I was just kidding!" Kaien reiterated loudly, waving his free arm around to elaborate on his words, "It's true that I feel you should repent for your sins, but _killing _you for that, well…there's no reason I would think of such a _stupid_ idea!" He closed the gap between them at a casual pace, and planted his hand to ruffle Ichigo's orange mess of hair. "I told you, didn't I?" Moving his hand to slap down on the young subordinate's large shoulder Kaien continued to deliver his perplexingly warm and friendly smile. "There's something that 'only you can do' for me. And so, if you are _truly _ready to repent…then there is something you _must _do for me, Kuchiki."

Ichigo gave a sigh of relief, something he hadn't done at all during these last few tenuous moments. He bowed his head slightly at the thought, wondering what it could be that he could do that would finally rid him of the guilt that rested on his beleaguered shoulders. "…something…I must…do…?"

"…yes." His mentor and brother finally answered, looking at him with that supportive face Ichigo remembered during his time as a trainee. His heart lifted, as he would be glad to do what he was asked of.

_**"Bring me the heads of all your **__**nakama**__**."**_

* * *

**Author's Notes:** I know I said the main storyline would be here after the holidays, but hear me out...considering I did a time-skip chapter for Rukia, I thought... "Why can't I do the same for Ichigo?" And there you have it..._here's _your stinky time-skip...

Anyways, like it says on my profile, I've decided to let everyone know that I have a deviantart account! Though nothing too good is on there, check it out as I eventually get around to doing just that! Also, the anime club I'm a part of has just posted the pilot chapter of our manga online (deviantart as well), so check out the username PSAOM for the "PSAOM Project"!

**_...legalities..._**

-PSAOM is a recognized group within the Penn State Anime Organization**_  
_**

-Everything is based within Bleach created by Tite Kubo

-Homework is slowly killing me softly

-What happened with the Pats, anyway?

_**Disclaimer:**_ Make sure you keep your grades up...OR I'LL EAT YOUR SOUL!!!


	10. Sibling Love part 1

_A shadow flickered against the wall, gliding past the framed painted portraits of grandfather, great-grandfather, and other family members who had left for the afterlife. Dressed in her large and frilly sleeping negligee, the young woman had snuck downstairs to confront the other woman huddled in the center of the family lounge. The orange glow of the candlelight wisped and fluttered from her quicker movement, as she slid back the large oak doors to a surprised Marianne. "I know about it, my sister. It's all hidden in that box, isn't it?" The scene about them was surreal, as Francoise pointed accusingly toward the object resting on the dining table between them. "The Jade Box that Mother gave you."_

_Francoise placed her candle onto the table, breathing heavy now that Marianne rushed to grab the box away from her. Her blonde hair contrasted with the other woman's short and curly brown locks, as they both latched their hands onto the box. "Give me that box, my sister Marianne! Go on!!" Francoise urged, but without any luck. Fighting against each other's strength to pull, the older sister finally managed to wrestle the cursed object away from Marianne._

"_No! Don't open that box!" Marianne screamed, pushed aside to the carpeted ground. She reached out desperately to stop her older sister, but it was too late. The blonde woman's hand had flipped the lid to see its innards, only for her clear blue eyes to widen as though she had seen death itself. "Francoise!! NOOOO!!"_

--

It was annoying enough to have to lose most of his powers when he saved that human girl, but now it seems that she didn't have even an instance of training with a sword—Ichigo sighed that he would have to teach her himself. With that in mind, he remembered seeing Rukia's swings; they definitely needed work. And it just so happened that he saw a pitching machine somewhere once…baseball was a popular human sport, right? "Hey, what the heck are you doing!!" Ticked off at the girl for reading instead of listening to his explanation, Ichigo cradled the baseball bat on the back of his neck while holding the handle tightly. Sighing, he reached out to tap the engrossed girl's shoulder-

"EEEEK!!" With inhuman speed and agility, the small raven haired girl jumped back from her would-be attacker with the graphic novel raised over her shoulder at the ready. "…" Panting heavily with mouth agape, Rukia's eyes were wide still when she identified the pointy haired male. "OOOH! You scared me!!" She huffed as she studied today's particular scowl for the day. "I'm, uh…studying for an upcoming 'vernacular test'…"

"You were not." Ichigo replied as he spotted the girl's bluff from a mile away. "Using _that_ to study?" His arched eyebrow slowly descended to its default position as Rukia slowly regained her composure while still sitting on the ground. "You were reading a stupid _horror comic_ while I was explaining and demonstrating this Shinigami training to you?" His voice was stern as he eyed the girl before him.

"You don't have to be so grouchy about it…" Rukia scoffed as she finally observed the weird contraption that Ichigo was leaning on.

"…" this only managed to elicit a more irritated scowl, much to Rukia's surprise. Without a word, he casually tossed the bat in his possession at her, causing Rukia to jump back to her feet in order to avoid the cylindrical aluminum object that clanked against the ground and rolled to a stop where she stood.

Ignoring the childish response, her violet eyes looked up and down Ichigo in a curious manner. "Say…" she finally spoke out, noticing that Ichigo was covered in a fine reddish powder. "What's up with you?"

"What's up with _me_?" he repeated her question like a pissed off parrot. Stomping over to the strange machine, Ichigo slid open the plastic dome and reached inside. "I bet you're pretty smug with yourself right now, huh?" Walking back to her, he held up two baseball-like objects close for Rukia to see, each designed with a different picture. "What the heck are these doodles supposed to be? Are you even taking this training seriously?"

"Yeah, I am!" Rukia reacted, not sure why he would ask her such a stupid question. "You asked me to draw a head and hand on those orbs of yours, and I did it! I didn't have to, but I even took extra time to make each and every one of them an art masterpiece!" Crossing her small arms across her chest, she huffed at the strange criticism that he was giving her work.

"Y-you seriously call this…_art!?_" amazed and appalled simultaneously, Ichigo glanced at the two pictures—one supposedly of a head and another of a hand—to make sure they were talking about the same thing.

"Yeah! Got a problem with that!?"

"_This _is a hand…" He held up the pepper ball in his left as he made his argument. "And _this_…" Holding the regular ball in his right, Ichigo's eye twitched as he tried to hammer in this detail into the self-absorbed girl. "…is a hand with a _face _on it!! How the hell are you going to do this exercise properly—much less exorcise _Hollow_—if you can't distinguish between the two!?"

"_I _can distinguish them just fine!" Rukia yelled back with equal tenacity, purely annoyed by how Ichigo was acting. "_You're _just an ignorant boob!"

"What!?" dumfounded without a direct response to that, Ichigo could only pinch the bridge of his nose with a sigh. "Listen!" he said in a serious tone, not wanting to be bogged down by the aesthetics of art, "The head is a Hollow's weak spot. One good whack will split it open like a melon." Tossing the ball for her to catch, Ichigo continued to re-explain the basics. "This training will help you crack heads with precision, whatever the situation!"

"…" Rukia spent her attention observing the ball in her hands, trying to figure out what was so hard to distinguish about the drawing.

"Hey…" the orange haired man raised his hand toward Rukia's unsuspecting forehead. "You're not even listening to me even after I'm explaining this for a second time…" Ready to flick, Ichigo pressed the back of his middle finger against his thumb before-

"HEY, GUYS!!"

"EEEEK!!" The cheery voice sent a vivid shock of surprise up Ichigo's spine, as his less-than-masculine yelp alerted Rukia to another's presence.

"Huh? Orihime? What are you doing here?" Rukia casually addressed the red haired girl's arrival, and largely ignored Ichigo who was still picking himself up from the ground he fell to.

"Hee-hee! Shopping for dinner!" Orihime cheerily responded with an accompanying crumple of plastic. Her hand shuffled through the bag hanging off her opposite wrist before revealing the whitened stalk of vegetable and waving it about like a conductor's wand. "I bought leeks, butter, bananas, and bean jam jelly!"

'_What's she planning to make?_' Rukia raised an eyebrow in concern.

"Hmm?" the long haired girl's eyes turned their attention to the still recovering Ichigo, tilted just slightly from her head cocked to the side in curiosity. "Rukia…What are you doing here with Ichigo?"

"Eh?" blinking in surprise, Rukia's mind rushed to come up with an excuse, rolling her eyes away while placing a finger atop her lips in thought. "…well, uh….um…"

"Heh?" Leery eyes returned a glance toward Orihime's question, completely unsure if he was the one being addressed despite hearing his own name. Pointing to himself, the orange haired shinigami blinked stupidly as the girl stared back in equal silence. "Do I know you?"

"Idiot!" the smaller girl exclaimed with a flinch of a kick to the taller male's legs and tripped him up. Laughing nervously and loudly to cover up Ichigo's yelp of surprise, Rukia jumped between the two of them with a forced smile and rapidly flapping hands waving about. "_She's Orihime Inoue! She's in our class!" _Rukia whispered behind through her gritting teeth.

"Oh…really?" With a grunt, Ichigo managed to sit up a second time and exhaled softly. His eyes hovered back to the curious girl, as they both stayed silent for quite an awkward length of time. "…sup?" a casual raise of his hand was a form of a wave, apparently, as he mumbled his greeting with an oblivious tone.

'_Geez…I guess he treats everyone like they're guys…_' Rukia's mouth went agape at the shinigami's lack of courtesy toward the opposite sex, as she used to think that Ichigo was rude only to her.

"Huh…? Oh…just… 'chillin'..." Orihime smiled, and returned the greeting in much the same way.

'_She's playing along with it!?_'

Their greeting over, Orihime looked downward with a soft smile on her face. Rukia had now glanced over to her friend, wondering about the fresh dressing of bandages around the redhead's left arm. "Your arm…what happened? You fall again?"

"Huh?" As if forgetting it was there, Orihime blinked with modest movements about her supposed injury. "Oh, this? No!" Her tone made the subject seem trivial, with the corners of her mouth stretched from ear to ear with a smile. "I was run over!"

"R-run over!?" If there were a table nearby, Rukia surely would've flipped it over or if she were sitting, would've fallen off from the sheer absurdness in her friend's treatment of such an event. Baffling, really, even for a girl like Orihime. "By a _car_!?"

"Yeah." she responded like it was a fond nostalgia, "I went out to buy a drink last night and…BAM!" Clapping her hands together in a cheap form of reenactment, it took a moment for Orihime to continue until the momentum of the plastic bag's movement came to a neutral hanging. "I've been getting run over a _lot_ lately." The added "Hee hee" did nothing to lower the amount of concern Rukia had for her airy friend.

"No 'hee hee'!" Rukia frowned, "That's serious! Aren't you upset!?"

"But…they didn't hit me on purpose…"

"That's _not _the point…" Rukia's shoulders gave in to slumping as she tried her odds against her friend's innocence. She was too tired to yelp when a light tap poked her shoulder from behind. "…" her neck craned slowly backwards to see Ichigo standing there.

"Does Orihime get hurt a lot?"

"Almost everyday!"

"I daydream…" taking the comment in stride, Orihime rubbed the back of her head with a simple smile.

"Don't be so casual about it!"

'_Hmm…maybe she's just clumsy…_' Crossing his arms over each other silently while watching the girls continue their own conversation, Ichigo squatted on the ground, frankly a bit fatigued over the experiences from the past few days. "…" His eyes were attracted to something in front of him, causing a focused squint of concern.

"Really, Orihime…you shouldn't be so quick to…" Rukia's soft-voice chastising immediately paused as something orange attracted her attention.

"That bruise on your leg…" Rukia practically screamed when she found Ichigo squatting next to Orihime, practically looking up the girl's skirt with no sense of regret. It took her quite the amount of restraint not to strangle him right then and there, but the injury was too pressing to override her concern. Instead, she knelt next to him to observe the injury, neither of them noticing Orihime's slight blush creeping across her face.

"Oh…I got this last night. It must've happened when the car hit me…" Orihime explained.

A twitch of his eyes alerted Rukia to something else more worrisome as he quickly stood up with a serious look on his face.

"Rukia, why are you looking like that?" Orihime bent down with a curios look on her face. It seemed that Rukia forgot that her friend was looking right at her, noticing her obvious concern.

"Huh? Oh…it's nothing…" Rukia tried to play it off, standing up as well while trying to change her expression.

"It just looks so painful." Ichigo added, stuffing his hands into his pockets as if they belonged in there.

"How did you know!?" Orihime, surprised by the boy's keen observational skills, clamored with excitement toward him. "My leg hurts worse than my arm!"

"Really?" He put on a wide eyed expression now, seeming more worried than a complete stranger would normally be. "Maybe it's paralyzed or something!? You should go to the doctor!"

"Huh? …um…"

"Why are you blushing?"

Simply watching this continue, Rukia stayed silent as her friend shuffled nervously around before glancing at her watch.

"Oh no! I'm late!" She began rushing off toward the stairs that led up a hill, her sandals slapping cutely against the bottoms of her feet.

"In a hurry?" Rukia called out.

"Yes! Shoten's gonna start!" she continued her rapid advance up the steps, jumping nearly two at a time like it was a matter of life or death.

"You gonna be okay!? Want me to walk you home!?"

"Huh!?" Orihime turned around in a pause from Rukia's offer, but waved it off like it would be troublesome for her friend. "N-no, I'm fine!!"

"Okay! See ya tomorrow then!" Noticing Ichigo's bored form standing around, she quickly elbowed his gut, eliciting a soft yelp from him. She glared daggers at him, trying to communicate that it was rude not to say bye to someone.

Just barely getting the message, Ichigo looked up the hill where the long haired girl stood, and raised his hand in the same lazy manner he did upon introduction. "…"

"Okay! See you…tomorrow!" the girl barely squeaked back a response, and scampered out of view with plastic bag in tow.

"Phew…" Rukia rubbed the back of her head while still looking up the hill, "Just _watching_ her makes me tired…I hope she's alright…"

"That girl…" Ichigo spoke out in a contemplative tone. His eyes not looking at anything in particular, his thumb and index finger pinched his chin as if he were trying to deduce something.

"Huh?" Rukia turned, wondering what the shinigami had to say about Orihime now that she had left. "Don't tell me you li-"

"Are you two close?"

"I wouldn't say as close as Tatsuki, but well...kinda, I guess." She crossed her arms in thought, trying to remember the roots of their friendship.

"Any siblings?"

"Just one. She had a brother, an older one." Rolling her neck upwards, she sighed in a somber way.

"Had?"

"Yeah…" Rukia sighed again, this time, a bit sadder than before. "He died three years ago." She looked downward now, staring at her feet. "I remember because I opened the door. I was just about to leave for school. The doorbell rang before we were open. A girl carrying her brother on her back. They said it was a car accident. He was covered with blood." Shaking her head, Rukia took a pause for breath before continuing. "We didn't have the equipment to save him. He died while we were arranging his transfer to a big hospital. So, despite being friends with her for a while, I found out recently that the little girl with brown hair was her." She craned her neck back toward the orange haired shinigami, with a smug look on her face. "What's with all the questions, huh? Are you _worried_ about her?"

"No. I'm not worried." Ichigo brushed off the girl's insinuative tone with bored eyes. Turning around, he began to walk out of the park as well.

"Wha!? …tch….What's wrong!?" Rukia exclaimed in confusion, annoyed by his aloof manner contradicting her honed feminine instincts.

"C'mon, we're going home too…"

'_Lousy bratty…just because he's taller…_' She mumbled with gritted teeth, although a spark of realization coursed through her mind at the word. "Hey…where _do _you go home to? You have a home down here?" Genuinely interested, Rukia wondered as Ichigo paused upon her question.

"Heh? You saying you want to come over to my place?" he asked with a smug look on his face.

"As if! Not in the least!!" Taken aback, Rukia scowled at his comment and even more so when she thought that he was probably mocking her comment about him and Orihime just a bit earlier. "And what kind of tumor do you have in your orange hair-infested brain that keeps making you say those kinds of things!?"

"Later." Yet again, he was ignoring her while walking casually up the stairs and leaving Rukia behind.

--

Upon leaving the park, it seemed that Ichigo had disappeared from sight. Rukia definitely didn't mind, not needing to know where he lived after that creepy comment of his. Already home, she was wrapped in her bathrobe, walking up stairs toward her room when she noticed her father rummaging around like a maniac—or possibly just more like himself…

"Oh, Rukia!" he gruffly called to her, just beginning to open up her bedroom door.

"Hey! Knock before entering!"

"Hmmm…" closing the door behind him, the scruffy faced doctor scratched his chin with a puzzled look in his eyes. "Have you seen my shirt and pants anywhere?"

"What? Are you getting old, or something? You're wearing it, aren't you?"

"No, no, the shirt and pants I wore when I met Misaki…" her dear father's explanation was cut short as he stared blankly at her.

"…?"

"You took a bath! I was going to take one too!"

"…" Rukia couldn't even respond to his dangerous comment. Perhaps, she could at least take a slight step backwards. "What the heck? And you wonder why Karin is so mean to you…"

"Rukia…you've gotten so cold to your father since you started high school!" Isshin leaned in toward the smaller girl with arms wide open and eyes clenched shut, only to feel a bare foot strike him in the face and send him to the floor.

"No I haven't…" she answered in a blunt manner while opening the door to her room. "And I have no idea where your clothes could be…"

"What!!" Isshin jumped back to his feet too late, only managing to strike his face against the now closed door. "My pajamas are missing too!" He added, though his voice was muffled on the other side despite his loud voice. "I wouldn't mind if you just told me you or the girls took them! Maybe because you're adding on a gold star for being a good Papa!?"

"Your stupidity knows no bounds, dad!" Rukia screamed back. She could only shake her head in disappointment over her father's antics, moving closer to her bed to start changing into her sleeping clothes. Sitting atop her Chappy Bunny blankets, she had just untied the sash to her robe before a series of soft beeps caught her attention. She looked around, unsure of where they were coming from. "What? Is Yuzu or Karin playing a game or something?" Just as suddenly as they began, the beeps stopped. "Huh…" Rukia shrugged it off, and merely continued to remove her robe-

A bang from her right caused Rukia to jump up, and look to see what had caused the—"KYAHH!!" she squealed in terror while clutching her robe closed again. Revealing himself from within her walk-in closet, a familiar orange haired burglar appeared. "H-h-h-how long have you been peeking on me, you pervert!?" It took a moment to register, but the clothing that he wore was also quite familiar as well. "Those are my dad's pajamas!!"

"Never mind that!" Ichigo ignored her accusations, and extended his arm to reveal his cell phone "It's an order!"

"An _order_? A Hollow's coming? Where!?"

"Time and place…" he began saying, stepping out from her walk-in closet while slipping on his red glove. "Here…" he rushed right toward the girl, ignoring her surprised look and jumped to push Rukia right out of her body. "…and now!!"

"Wha!?" They had just narrowly avoided the monstrously large hand that shot out of the bed and tore apart her pillow, sending stuffing to flutter all throughout her room. Now dressed in her black kimono and shihakusho, Rukia saw an arm pull out through a crack in the very air, red and gruesome before the rest of the monster emerged into view. Unlike the one that attacked the boy in the park, this was one humanoid, and had dark hair that breezed backwards from its lunging motion.

"_**GRAARRWW!**_"

"Aim for the head!!" Ichigo quickly ordered, just as Rukia's hand grasped against her sheathed zanpakuto at her hip.

"I know!!" As the Hollow thrashed after her, Rukia managed to swing her blade up in a diagonal path, carving through the beast's masked face.

"_**GRAAAAAR!!**_"

'_Too shallow!!_' Ichigo noted as she struck, though the Hollow lurched backward in pain and retreated though the now disappearing crack in the air. "It got away!" He growled and bounded toward the window. "Let's go!!"

"Wait!!" Hearing her call after him, Ichigo stumbled to a stop, whipping his view behind him to see Rukia's paled face. Panting, she stood with eyebrows furrowed and beads of sweat on her face. "What's going on?" She gulped, disturbed by what she saw when the Hollow attacked. "That was…Orihime's brother!"

* * *

**Author's Notes:** Technically chapter 8 of the main storyline, I've finally posted it! Ha!

Anyways, you ever been to Tekkoshocon? It's an Anime convention in Pittsburg...I went...it was awesome...

If you didn't know, Kubo-sensei is on a two month break, so the manga is on a "filler" mode. I don't care, though. This is important and life altering revelations, and I love how it's coming like this instead of those stinky flashbacks in the middle of the main arc. Same great taste, more filling.

_**...legalities...**_

Bleach has a round house kick that's so fast, it tore through the fabric of time to hit Amelia Earheart in the face, thus making her crash into the Atlantic ocean.

The boogieman looks under the bed for Tite Kubo

There is no Theory of Evolution...just a list of animals that Kenpachi Zaraki allows to live.


End file.
